A sizzling bolt of green fire sped out of nowhere to strike two demons from behind, causing them to fall to their knees then convulse, their red leather hides smoking and blistering as they writhed and then vanished in a blinding white flash.
Jommy searched for the origin of the bolt and saw Pug, Magnus, and two other magicians floating above the fray. Randolph and Simon were not the masters of destructive magic Pug and Magnus were, but they knew enough violent magic to inflict harm on the demons below.
‘Pug!’ shouted Jommy, and he felt reinvigorated as he hacked at the demons in front of him allowing Sandreena and Brandos to regain their feet. Whatever damage the young woman warrior endured, she ignored it as she joined the fray, using her mace to good effect and driving the demons back so the older fighter could catch his breath and continue the fight.
The massive demon was stunned by Sandreena’s attack, and Amirantha and Creegan both seized the opportunity to begin complicated banishing rituals. Their chanting was almost in harmony, though they spoke different words. Then as one they finished, and the large demon simply faded from view.
The tide of battle turned, for with their captain gone, the demons now sought a means of escape. Several had the arts to will themselves back to their own realm, but others appeared to be abandoned to the less than tender care of those they attacked. Other magicians, many gravely injured, began to appear around the edges of the fire, and they did what they could to keep the demons surrounded.
‘Remember that nasty trick of letting us surround them!’ shouted Brandos.
Pug threw a massive energy bolt, but instead of striking the assembled demons, now down to about a dozen of them, it caused a huge compression of the air above them. The thunderclap caused everyone’s ears to pop, and as if blowing out a massive candle, the flames dispersed and suddenly the fire was mostly out. A few hotspots still burned, but mostly the building was now smoking char.
Miranda ran down the hill to help finish the fight, when a prone demon suddenly leapt to its feet, and onto her back.
Pug shouted, ‘No!’ as the creature set its fangs to her neck and tore out the side of her throat, faster than she could read. Miranda’s legs gave way and she collapsed.
Magnus’s cry echoed his father’s; he extended his hand and the demon withered to ash in a moment. The rage he displayed was incredible, and every demon that saw him turned to flee, only to be cut down by those nearby. Pug cut a charred path through demonic bodies as he struggled to reach his wife.
In less than a minute it was over. Pug and the others reached Miranda, and he knelt next to his wife. No one needed to be told she was dead. Her lifelessness and fixed gaze made it abundantly clear. The attack had been so sudden, the damage to her neck so severe, only the most powerful healing magic used instantaneously might have saved her. In the scant moments it had taken for her husband to reach her, she had bled to death.
Pug was motionless. Magnus came to kneel next to his father and both were still.
The struggle was over, and silence fell, punctuated only by the occasional crackle of flame and pop of cooling embers. Slowly they gathered around Miranda, save for a few who were trying to tend to the wounded.
Nothing was said for a long time. Pug reached under his wife’s prone body and lifted her with the help of his son. His features were set, but wetness ran down his cheeks, as he softly said, ‘I will see to my wife.’ He glanced at Magnus and said, ‘You must be strong. There’s still work to be done.’
Magnus looked around and nodded. His face was ashen, but his features showed resolve. He looked at one of the injured students and asked, ‘My brother?’
Unable to speak, the student merely shook his head in the negative, then pointed at the heart of the house, where the office used by Pug and his son had stood. Only smoking rubble now remained and the charred bodies that lay throughout that part of the building.
Magnus hung his head for a long moment, then with tears running down his cheeks said, ‘Come.’ He led the others away from where his father stood motionless, holding his mother.
Pug remained alone with his wife amidst the smoking ruin of what for had decades been their home.
EPILOGUE - Epitaph
The crowd was silent.
Father-Bishop Creegan stood before a single stone marker as the sunrise lit the landscape with golden and rose hues. Up on a hill a pyre stood ready and Miranda’s body, wrapped in white linen, lay upon it ready for cremation. Other bodies were also prepared for final rites, but most were burned beyond recognition so they were receiving group services.